Hook and eye



Feb. 23, 1965 A. L. FREW HOOK AND EYE Filed March 4, 1964 INVENTOR. Hm. FIN I... FREW Fl 7' TORNEYS being shown ina closed condition.

3,170,210 1100K AND EYE Allan L. Frew, Woodbury, -Conn., assignor to Waterbury Buckie Company, Waterbury, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Mar. 4, 19364, Ser. No. 349,320 1'1 Claims. (Cl. 24-226) This invention relates to belts and buckles and deals more particularly with belts and .buckles particularly adapted for, although not necessarily limited to, use in automobiles, airplanes and other vehicles for restraining an occupant to prevent or minimize injury in the event of sudden decelerating movement of .the vehicle.

The general object of this invention is to provide a buckle for apsafety belt which buckleis of simpleeconomical construction and adapted for use in a safety belt for a child. I

. A more particular object of this invention is to provide a .buckle of the foregoing character which, when applied to a belt and closed, is capable of withstanding a relatively high loop load (e.g. 2,000 lbs.) without opening or breaking and which; when subjected to a relatively low loop load (e.g. 50 lbs.) is capable of being opened with a small manual release force (e.g. 20 lbs.).

Another object of this invention is to provide a buckle of the foregoing character which buckle is useful in combination with nylon webbing or other web material that tends to stretch under load,1the buckle being so constructed that stretchingof the web material has no tendency to cause release of the buckle Another object of this invention is to provide, in a safety belt buckle including a release lever adapted to be movably supported on one end of the belt and engag able with an eyemember supported on the other end of the belt, a simple means in the form of a two part snap fastener for releasably holding the release lever in its closed position when no strain is applied to the belt, the buckle being otherwise so constructed that strain on the belt urges the release lever to its closed position or at least does not tend to cause releasing movement of the lever. i

United States Patent A further object of thisinvention' is toprovide in a buckle of the character described in the foregoing para- "graph a guard means for preventing the eye member from striking or catching on the part of the snap, fastener carried by the release lever during releasing movement of the release'lever. I g V A still further object of this'invention is to provide a safety belt including a buckle of the foregoing character and wherein partof the fastener means for holding the release lever is carried directly by the strap or webbing for a sepaportion of the belt so as to eliminatethe need ate housing for the release lever.

Other objects and advantages of 'the invention will be drawing forming a part hereof.

The drawing shows a preferred embodiment ofrtlie inapparent from the following description and from the "ice FIG; 3 is a rear elevational view of the buckle of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a view generally similar to FIG. 2 but showing the hook member of the buckle in a partially open position.

Turning to the drawing, a belt buckle embodying the present invention is shown generally at 10 and comprises in general an eye member 12 and a hook member 14. The eye member 12 is carried by one end portion 16 of a belt strap and the hook member 14- is carried by another end portion 18 of a belt strap. The two strap end portions 16 and 18 may be the two end portions of a single belt strap or may be parts of two separate belt straps. In the illustrated case, the belt strap material is shown to be a web of woven material such as nylon.

Considering the eye member 12, this member may take various different forms, and in the illustrated example consists of a fiat sheet metal piece having an opening 20 which receives the strap end portion 16 and which defines a bar 22 about which the end portion 16 is looped.

Preferably the end portion 16 is adjustably connected with the eye member 12 by means of a slide buckle'24 to permit adjustment of the belt length to suit the user. Spaced from the opening 20, the eye member 12 includes another larger opening 26. This latter opening is adapted to receive the hook member 14 and defines a transverse bar 28- about which the hook member is hooked when joined with the eye member. Although the opening 26 may take various different shapes, it preferably has a D-shape, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, for a reason hereinafter explained in more detail.

Considering next the hook member 14, this member, asillustrated, may be made essentially from a single piece of sheet metal which is bent and. otherwise formed to provide a connector portion 30 adapted for connection with the belt strap end portion 18 an arcuately curved portion 32 and a. handle or release lever portion 34. As shown best in FIG. 3, the connector portion 3% includes a transversely elongated opening 36 which receives the belt strapend portion 18 and provides. a bar 38 about which said latter end portion is looped. The free end of the belt loop which passes through the opening of 36 is permanently fixed'to the remaining portion of the-belt axis 42 which passes generally through the bar 38. t

vention and such embodiment will be described, but it willbe nnderstood that variouscha'nges may be made from the construction disclosed, and that the drawing and desoription are not tobe-construedas definingor limiting the scope of the invention; the claimsforrning. a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose." 3

1 Of the drawing: r

' FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a safety belt buckle and belt embodying the present invention,

Pro. 2 is a side. view of the belt buckle with the phantom lines illustrating the positions occupied by a users thumb. and finger in accordance with one meth- 0d q qp t s hrs g g; 1.; e, a

the buckle shown inFIG. 1

The arcuately curved portion 32 is integral with the forward or left-handend of the connector portion 30 and has a center of curvature approximately coincident with the pivot axis 42. The angular extent of theportion 32 may vary, but preferably its arcuate curvature extends for about 80 from the connector portion 30. v

The handle portion 34 formsa continuation .of the curved portion 32 and provides a handle or lever for manually swingingthe hook member between open and closed positions. At the free end of the handle portion 34 is astud or male part 44 of a two-part snap fastener; As shown best in FIG. 4, this part 44 is connected to the handleportion 34 by a cylindrical portion 46 which passes through an opening 48 in the handle portion.- The opening 48 is considerably larger in diameter than thecylindrical portion. 46 so that the part s4 may move. a limited extent relative to the handle portion. As, will be observed from FIGS. 2 and 4, the stud part 44 cooperates with a complementary female part-5t) secured to the associated belt strap end portion 18. Whenthe-handle portion Mis moved to the position corresponding to a closed condition of .the hook member, thestud part 4-4 is engageable with the female part 50 to releasably hold the hook mem- 'ber,v in its closed condition. The limited movement of the part' iarelative to the handle portion 34 which is 3 permitted as a result of the oversize opening 48 permits the part 44 to adjust itself to changes in the position of the female part 50 caused by stretching of the nylon belt material under load or to slight errors in locating the female part during manufacture of the belt.

The stud part 44 includes a portion 52 which extends for some distance beyond the inner surface of the handle portion 34. To guard against the portion 52 striking or catching on the bar 28 of the eye member during opening movement of the hook member, the hook member 14 preferably includes a guide means located between the curved portion 32 and the stud part 44 to guide the bar 28 away from the stud part during such opening movement. In the illustrated case, this guide means comprises two inclined tabs 54, 54 which are sheared from the material of the hook member and bent away from the surface thereof in such a manner as to provide inclined surfaces which are engageable with the bar 28 to move the latter away from the part 44.

The hook member 14 in the vicinity of the curved portion 32 and connector portion 30 has a transverse width approximately equal to the length of the straight edge 56. of the D-shaped opening 26 in the eye member. This has the advantage of causing the hook member, when the connector portion 30 enters the opening 26, to be maintained close to the straight edge 56' and thereby prevents the eye member from moving up over and catching on the belt end portion 18. The handle portion 34 has a tapering outline so as to be of maximum width adjacent the arcuate portion 32 and of narrower width adjacent its free end. This facilitates the insertion of the handle portion into the opening 26 of the eye member and also allows the handle portion, in the vicinity of the fastener part 44, to move away from the bar 28 during the insertion to permit the part 44 to move past the bar 28.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show the belt and belt buckle of the present invention with the buckle in its closed condition. This condition is reached by inserting the handle portion 34 of the hook member into the opening 26 of the eye member and then rotating the hook member relative to its belt strap end portion until the stud part 44 snapsinto the female part 50. With the hook member in this position, it should be noted that the arrangement of the portions of the hook member is such that the connector portion 30 is inclined slightly relative to the associated belt strap end portion so that when a load is applied between the two belt strap end portions the bar 28 of the. eye member engages the arcuately curved portion 32 of the hook memberand imposes substantially no force or moment on the hook member tending to open the same. The cooperative engagement of the fastener parts 44 and 50 releasably holds the hook member closed and prevents inadvertent opening of the same regardless of the load applied to the belt, which may be approximately zero under normal conditions or quite high in the event of a sudden deceleration of the vehicle. When it is desired to release the belt buckle, a separating force is applied between the handle portion 34 and the associated belt strap end portion sufiicient to unsnap the two fastener parts 44 and 50. Once the parts 44 and 50 are unsnapped, the handle portion 34, due to the arcuate curvature of the portion 32, may be swung to an open position with relatively little force even though a relatively large force may be applied to the belt. In this regard, it should further be noted that the tabs 54, 54 may be used to aid in unsnapping the fastener parts 44 and 50 by placing the thumb and index finger of a users hand as shown in phantom in FIG. 2 and by moving the same in the direction shown by the arrows. If this is'done, the ends of the tabs 54, 54 act as a fulcrum for the belt strap and make easier the unsnapping of the parts. I

With regard to the fastener provided by the parts 44 and 50 for releasably holding the hook member closed, it should be particularly understood that the invention in its broader aspects is not necessarily limitedto the use of such a snap fastener, and that other releasable fasteners may be substituted for the one shown. For example, the fastener could be comprised of a magnet secured to the belt strap in such a manner as to hold the hook member in a closed position by magnetic attraction. Alternatively, a magnet could be secured to the hook member and cooperate with a ferromagnetic part or another magnet secured to the belt strap. As another example the handle portion of the hook member could be provided with a longitudinally elongated slot and the belt strap with a radially and resiliently deformable post member, the post member releasably engaging the walls of the slot or the material of the hook member adjacent thereto when the hook member is in its closed position.

The invention claimed is:

l. A belt buckle comprising a hook member including a connector portion having an opening through which the end portion of a'belt strap may be passed to form a loop pivotally connecting said'hook member thereto for movement of said hook member relative to said'belt strap between open and closed positions about a pivot axis extending transversely of said belt strap, said hook member also including a curved portion having a center of curvature at least approximately coincident with said pivot axis and a handle portion forming a continuation of said curved portion which handle portion is positioned adjacent said belt strap when said hook member is in its closed position and away from said belt strap when said hook member is inits open position, said connector portion having a width equal to the width of said handle portion at the junction of the latter with said connector portion, cooperable means on said handle portion and on said belt strap to releasably hold said hook member in its closed position, and an eye member adapted for connection to another belt strap end portion and having an opening for receiving said handle portion and curved. portion of said hook member, said opening being defined by a generally straight wall and another wall which is spaced relatively close to said generally straight wall at the opposite ends thereof and which is spaced relatively far from said generally straight wall in the vicinity of the center thereof, said opening having a zone adjacent said generally straight wall which zone is only slightly longer longitudinally of said eye member than the thickness of said connector portion and throughout which zone said opening has a width equal to or greater than the width of said connector portion, said opening at points outside of said zone having a width less than said width of said connector portion with the result that when said connector portion enters said' opening it necessarily occupies and is maintained in said'zone so that said eye member is prevented from riding up on the associated looped belt strap end portion.

2. A belt buckle comprising a hook member including a connector portion having an opening through which the end portion of a belt'strap may be passed to form a loop pivotally connecting said hook member thereto for movement of said hook member relative to said belt strap between open and closed positions about a pivot axis extending transversely of said belt strap, said hook member also including a curved portion having a center of curvature at least-approximately coincident with said pivot axis and a handle portion forming a continuation of said curved portion which handle portion is positioned adjacent said. belt strap when said hook member is in its closed posi-'- tion and away from said belt strap when said hook member is in its open position, said connector portion having a width equal to the Width of said handle portion at the junction of the latter with said connector portion, cooperable means on said handle portion and on said belt strap to releasably hold said hook member in its closed posiopening has a width equal to or greater than thewidth of said connector portion of said hook member, the remainder of said opening having a width less than the l 7 Width of said connector portion with the result that when said connector'portion enters said openingjit necessarily occupies and is maintained in said zone so that said eye member is prevented from riding up on the associated looped belt strap end portion byengagement ofjsaid belt I strap end portion withthat portion of'said eye member bordering said generally straight'wall, said handle member at its free end having a width substantially less than the width of said'connector portion to facilitate insertion thereof into said D-shaped opening. i

3. A belt buckle comprising a hook member and an eye member, said hook member including a connector portion adapted for. pivotal connection to the end ofa belt strap for movement of said hook member relative to said belt strap between open and closed positions about a pivot axis extending transversely of said belt strap, a curved portion having a center of curvature at least .ap proximately coincident with said pivot axis and engageable with said eye member when said hook member and eye member are-joined and said hook member is in its closed position, a handle portion forming a continuation of said curved portion and which handle portion is positioned adjacent said belt strap when said hook member is in its closed position and away'from said belt strap when said hook member is in its open position, and one part of a two-part snap fastener carried by said handle portion for cooperation with the complementary part of such a fastener carried by said belt strap to releasably hold said hook member in its closed position, said one snap fastener part and said handle portion including cooperating mount ing parts permitting said one snap fastener part to move a limited extent longitudinally of said handle portion to adjust itself to movement of said complementary jpart caused by stretching of said belt strap.

4. A buckle as defined in claim 3 further characterized by said cooperating mounting parts including an opening in said handle portion and a portion of said fastener part located in said opening, said latter portion of said fastener part having a smaller dimension longitudinally of said handle portion than said opening. 7

5. A buckle as defined in claim.3 further characterized by said hook member including means located near said one snap fastener part to guide said eye member away from said snap fastener part during opening movement of said hook member to prevent said eye member from striking or catching on said snap fastener part. I

6. A buckle as defined in claim further characterized by said hook member being made from a single piece of sheet metal and said guide meanscomprising' at least one tab sheared from the material of said hook and bent so as to extend'away from the surface thereof.

7. In a safety belt the combination comprising a belt strap, a hook member including'a connector portion having an opening defining a transverse bar-about which the 1 end portion of said belt strap is loopedto pivotally connect said hook member theretofor movement between open and closed positions about a pivot axis extending transversely of said belt strap, said hook member also including a curved portion having a center of curvature at least approximately coincident with said pivot axis and a handle portion forming a continuation of said curved portion which handle portion is positioned adjacent said belt strap when said hook member is. in its closed position and away from said belt strap when said hook member is in its open position, an eye member having an opening for receiving said handle p'ortionand curved portion of said hook member, said opening-being defined ing of said belt strap.'

. i 6 by a generally straight wall and another wall which is spaced relatively-close to said generally straight wall at the opposite endsthereof and which is spacedrelatively far from said generally straight wall in the vicinity of the center thereof, said opening having 'a zone adjacent said generally straight wall which zone is only slightly longer longitudinally of said eye member than the thickness of 2 said connector portion and throughout which zone said opening "has awidth equal to or greater than the width of said connector portion, said opening at points outside.

of said zone having a width less than said width of said connector portion with the result that when said connector portion" enters said opening it necessarily occupies and i is maintained in said zone so that said eye member-is prevented from riding upon said looped belt strap, one part of a snap fastener on said handle portion of-said hook member,- and a complementary part'of said snap fastener fastened directly to said belt strap for cooperation with said one part to releasably hold said hook member in its closed position, said one snap fastener part and said han-.

dle portion including cooperating mounting parts permitting said one snap fastener part to moye a limited extent longitudinally of said handleportion to adjust itself to movement of said complementary part caused by stretch- 8. The combination defined in claini 7 further characterized by'said one snap' fastener part-having a portion protr'udinga considerable distance from the general surface of said handle portion't'owar'd said belt strap, and i said handle portion including two tabs located generally to either side of said protruding portion of said one snap fastener part, said two tabs being spaced sufficiently far from said one snap fastener part to permit said comple-.

mentary snap fastener part to cooperatively engage the same and said two tabs protruding from the general surface of said handle portion toward said belt strap by a distance at least approximately equal to said distance of protrusion of said one snap fastener part so as to prevent said eye member from striking'said protruding portion of said, one snap fastener part during opening movement of i said hook member. 7

9. The combination defined in claim 8 further characterized by said belt strap being made of nylon webbing. IOQIn a safety belt the combination comprising a belt strap, a hook member pivotally connected with said belt strap for movement between open and closed positions about an axis extending transversely of said belt strap,

said hook member also including a curved portion having a center'of curvature at least approximately coincident with said pivot axis and a handle portion forming a con- 7 positioned adjacent said belt strap when said hook member is in its closed position and away from said belt strap when said hook member is in its open position, an eye member having an opening for receiving said handle por- 1 tion and curved portion of said hook member, one part of a snap fastener on said handle portion of said hook memher, and a complementary part of said snap fastener fastened directly to said belt strap for cooperation with said one-part to releasably hold said hook member in its stretching of said belt strap. e

11. The combination definedin claim 10 tion having an opening defining a transverse bar about which, said belt is l'ooped,the free leg of said loop being sewn to;the other leg of said loopand said complementary part of said snap fastener being fixed only to said other leg of said loop.

I (References on following. page) further charv acterized by said hook member including a connector por- V References Cited bythe Examine! 2,192,374 3/ 40 Fritz .Q 2469 UNITED STATES PAT NTS 2,610,323 9/52 .TOhIlSOI1 24217 78 6 5/68 ca 4 69 2,836,868 6/58 Carter 242O1.4

2 5, s 24- 2 234,301 11/80.. Littlejohn 24-69 6 799 12/ 9 Andreas 70 324,136 8/85 Marshall 24-68 OREIGN ATENTS 359,422 3/87 Brandes 24-68 6,157" 12/82 Great Britain. 1,092,203 4/14 Carter 24-69 1,907,098 5/33 Dowd 24230.l DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner. 

1. A BELT BUCKLE COMPRISING A HOOK MEMBER INCLUDING A CONNECTOR PORTION HAVING AN OPENING THROUGH WHICH THE END PORTION OF A BELT STRAP MAY BE PASSED TO FORM A LOOP PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID HOOK MEMBER THERETO FOR MOVEMENT OF SAID HOOK MEMBER RELATIVE TO SAID BELT STRAP BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS ABOUT A PIVOT AXIS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID BELT STRAP, SAID HOOK MEMBER ALSO INCLUDING A CURVED PORTION HAVING A CENTER OF CURVATURE AT LEAST APPROXIMATELY COINCIDENT WITH SAID PIVOT AXIS AND A HANDLE PORTION FORMING A CONTINUATION OF SAID CURVED PORTION WHICH HANDLE PORTION IS POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID BELT STRAP WHEN SAID HOOK MEMBER IS IN ITS CLOSED POSITION AND AWAY FROM SAID BELT STRAP WHEN SAID HOOK MEMBER IS IN ITS OPEN POSITION, SAID CONNECTOR PORTION HAVING A WIDTH EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF SAID HANDLE PORTION AT THE JUNCTION OF THE LATTER WITH SAID CONNECTOR PORTION, COOPERABLE MEANS ON SAID HANDLE PORTION AND ON SAID BELT STRAP TO RELEASABLY HOLD SAID HOOK MEMBER IN ITS CLOSED POSITION, AND AN EYE MEMBER ADAPTED FOR CONNECTION TO ANOTHER BELT STRAP END PORTION AND HAVING AN OPENING FOR RECEIVING SAID HANDLE PORTION AND CURVED PORTION OF SAID HOOK MEMBER, SAID OPENING BEING DEFINED BY A GENERALLY STRAIGHT WALL AND ANOTHER WALL WHICH IS SPACED RELATIVELY CLOSE TO SAID GENERALLY STRAIGHT WALL AT THE OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF AND WHICH IS SPACED RELATIVELY FAR FROM SAID GENERALLY STRAIGHT WALL IN THE VICINITY OF THE CENTER THEREOF, SAID OPENING HAVING A ZONE ADJACENT SAID GENERALLY STRAIGHT WALL WHICH ZONE IS ONLY SLIGHTLY LONGER LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID EYE MEMBER THAN THE THICKNESS OF SAID CONNECTOR PORTION AND THROUGHOUT WHICH ZONE SAID OPENING HAS A WIDTH EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF SAID CONNECTOR PORTION, SAID OPENING AT POINTS OUTSIDE OF SAID ZONE HAVING A WIDTH LESS THAN SAID WIDTH OF SAID CONNECTOR PORTION WITH THE RESULT THAT WHEN SAID CONNECTOR PORTION ENTERS SAID OPENING IT NECESSARILY OCCUPIES AND IS MAINTAINED IN SAID ZONE SO THAT SAID EYE MEMBER IS PREVENTED FROM RIDING UP ON THE ASSOCIATED LOOPED BELT STRAP END PORTION. 